Cavs Look Into Trading For Jamal Crawford
The Cavaliers are exploring a trade that would send Jamal Crawford to Cleveland with Brendan Haywood‘s non-guaranteed contract headed to the Clippers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The news piggybacks on an earlier report from Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer, who’d heard rumors connecting Crawford to the Cavs. The Clippers would have to send out additional salary to make such a deal work.
Talks between the Cavs and the Nets about a trade that would incorporate the Haywood contract in a package to bring back Joe Johnson have seemingly stalled. Crawford would entail similar production at a fraction of the cost, as he’s slated to make just $5.675MM this coming season as opposed to Johnson’s gigantic salary of nearly $24.895MM.
Taking back Haywood’s deal, worth nearly $10.523MM this coming season but non-guaranteed as long as he’s waived by the end of August 1st, would help the Clippers clear salary to find a replacement for DeAndre Jordan. They could try to flip him for David Lee, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders speculates, noting that a Haywood-for-Lee trade would fit the league’s salary-matching parameters (Twitter links).
Cavs Rumors: Smith, Crawford, Love
The Cavaliers struck deals on the first day of free agency with Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert, and they were reportedly close to doing the same with Tristan Thompson the same day, but their pace has slowed considerably since then. The Thompson talks have reportedly bogged down, with LeBron James apparently unwilling to talk about a deal for himself until Thompson, a fellow Rich Paul client, is taken care of. The Joe Johnson trade discussions with the Nets appear to be in limbo, too. Still, there are plenty of rumors, as we’ll pass along:
- The Cavs don’t see the wisdom in giving J.R. Smith the long-term deal he’s seeking, and Smith “pretty much signed his exit papers” from Cleveland when he opted out, writes Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. That’s in spite of Smith’s apparent inclination to remain in Cleveland and LeBron’s desire to have the former Sixth Man of the Year back. Still, James is a fan of Johnson, and Pluto suggests the Nets swingman as a possible replacement for Smith on the wing. Those talks with the Nets about Johnson appear to be stagnant, however.
- Pluto hears rumors linking the Cavs to Jamal Crawford, and the Plain Dealer scribe suggests Crawford as another possible trade target with the Brendan Haywood contract. The Clippers were reportedly exploring trades for Crawford shortly before the draft.
- The Cavs and Love had a verbal agreement in place before July 1st, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group hears. That would technically violate collective bargaining agreement rules, since the sides weren’t allowed to talk contract until this month, but the practice of engaging in clandestine early negotiations wouldn’t exactly be unprecedented, Haynes notes.
Latest On David West
MONDAY, 2:52pm: The Heat are also pursuing West, as Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard reported and as Herald scribe Barry Jackson confirms (Twitter links), though Jackson doubts the Heat will be able to overcome his other suitors.
SATURDAY, 12:38pm: The Cavs and the Spurs are both aggressively pursuing West, with Cleveland having a slight edge at the moment, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays (via Twitter).
FRIDAY, 9:56am: The Wizards are making a hard push for West, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Spurs are still very much in the picture for him, but the Warriors have become “highly unlikely,” Stein adds in a second tweet. The ESPN scribe said Wednesday that the Spurs and Wizards were his most likely destinations. Washington has only the $5.464MM mid-level exception to spend unless it can work a sign-and-trade.
THURSDAY, 9:35am: David West is seriously interested in playing for either the Spurs or the Warriors, a source with knowledge of his situation told USA Today’s Sam Amick. Playing for one of the last two NBA champions would jibe with the reason he turned down his $12.6MM player option with the Pacers, as he explained Wednesday to Bob Kravitz of WTHR-TV in Indianapolis, telling him that he wants a legitimate chance at a title that he feels the Pacers can’t provide. He also said to Kravitz that while the team’s open criticism of Roy Hibbert wasn’t the deciding factor, it also played a role in his choice to leave Indiana.
“That’s one thing where I wish they would have handled better was the situation with Roy,” West said. “I’ll be honest with you, that bothered me a little bit, and I told Roy that. I’m the type of guy who feels like we’re all in this fight together and I’m not designed in that way to put it all on one guy. That did rub me the wrong way. That threw me off. I started reading some of that stuff, I started thinking, ‘Whoaa.’ I just didn’t feel good about that. I told Roy that it bothered me, that he’s still my teammate.”
West was open-minded at the end of the regular season about returning to Indiana, but as he watched the Finals on TV, he decided winning was a greater priority, as Kravitz detailed. The Pacers still have West’s Bird rights, but he doesn’t sound keen on re-signing, and it doesn’t sound like he’s Knicks-bound, either. He called the rumor that he was likely to sign with the Knicks ridiculous, citing his desire to play with a contender, Kravitz tweets.
The Spurs have maximum-level cap flexibility as they seek LaMarcus Aldridge after agreeing to trade Tiago Splitter to the Hawks, and while West probably wouldn’t command the max, he may well be a fallback option for San Antonio should it miss on Aldridge or Marc Gasol. The Warriors have only the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception to offer. It’s not clear if either team has interest in the Lance Young client.
Wolves Pull Qualifying Offer To Robbie Hummel
The Timberwolves have taken back the qualifying offer of more than $1.147MM that they had extended to Robbie Hummel, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears (Twitter link). The client of the Priority Sports agency thus becomes an unrestricted free agent, and the team forfeits its right to match competing bids for him. The timing of the move suggests that it’s tied to Minnesota’s deal with Nemanja Bjelica, at least in terms of roster space. Hummel is still eligible to re-sign with the Wolves, and the sides remain in talks, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
Minnesota officially has 11 players on its roster, but that doesn’t include first-round picks Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyus Jones, or Bjelica. It also doesn’t factor in a new deal for Kevin Garnett, who’s expected to re-sign. Lorenzo Brown‘s salary is non-guaranteed, but if Hummel had accepted the qualifying offer, which he had been free to do at any point, it would have created a logjam.
The team is poised to be over the cap when the July Moratorium is over on Thursday, given its more than $56MM in guaranteed salary, plus cap holds for Garnett, Towns and Jones. Thus, the withdrawal of the qualifying offer probably isn’t a move designed to create more cap room for Bjelica, who can instead go into the team’s $5.464MM mid-level exception. The Wolves don’t appear to be renouncing Hummel’s Early Bird rights, so they can still exceed the cap to re-sign him for up to the average salary, likely around $6MM, if they want. Still, a deal at or close to the minimum salary would be a more realistic outcome if Hummel is to remain with Minnesota.
Manu Ginobili To Return This Season
Manu Ginobili will play this season, he revealed on Twitter (hat tip to Scott Agness of VigilantSports). Ginobili said in the tweet’s hashtag that Tim Duncan, who also revealed his intentions to play again this coming season, would have missed him if he hadn’t followed suit and decided to play another season. Presumably, both will re-sign with the Spurs, though Ginobili and San Antonio are still working on the details of a new contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
The odds of Ginobili, who’ll turn 38 this month, didn’t seem as high as they were with Duncan’s return. Still, San Antonio’s sixth man is back in spite of having averaged fewer points and minutes per game this past season than in any year since he was a rookie.
It’s likely that the Herb Rudoy client will play for less than the $7MM he made with the Spurs this past season so that San Antonio can accommodate a max contract for LaMarcus Aldridge, who’s committed to join the team, as well as the new deals for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The money that Duncan will make, as well as the final terms of the agreed-upon Tiago Splitter trade, will likely dictate just how much San Antonio will have left for Ginobili.
2015 Draft Pick Signings
Teams commonly show their newly minted draft picks off to the public in the days following the event, even going to the trouble of printing up jerseys for them to hold for the cameras. Yet unlike free agency, when such displays only happen after contracts are officially signed, most teams wait a while to finalize their deals with draft picks. In some cases, the players never wind up wearing those jerseys in a game, and that’s especially true of second-rounders.
Still, most first-rounders end up signing at some point, and the predetermined rookie scale contracts they sign eliminate most of the negotiation. I recently ran down the likely salary for each first-round pick, and that’s what the first-rounders with “signed” by their names are getting, unless otherwise noted. There’s no scale for second-rounders, so they wind up signing deals of varying structure and worth. As we update this post throughout the offseason, you’ll see links to details on the contracts for each second-rounder who signs with his NBA club.
Each player is listed next to the team that holds his rights, which isn’t necessarily the team that drafted him, since so many picks change hands on draft night. We’ll update this post whenever there’s news of a signing, and you’ll be able to find a link to it under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar so you can keep up to date throughout the summer.
First Round
- Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns, F/C, Kentucky — signed
- Lakers: D’Angelo Russell, G, Ohio State — signed
- Sixers: Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke — signed
- Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis, F, Latvia — signed
- Magic: Mario Hezonja, SG, Croatia — signed
- Kings: Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Kentucky — signed
- Nuggets: Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, Guangdong Southern — signed
- Pistons: Stanley Johnson, SF, Arizona — signed
- Hornets: Frank Kaminsky, PF, Wisconsin — signed
- Heat: Justise Winslow, SF, Duke — signed
- Pacers: Myles Turner, C, Texas — signed
- Jazz: Trey Lyles, F, Kentucky — signed
- Suns: Devin Booker, SG, Kentucky — signed
- Thunder: Cameron Payne, PG, Murray State — signed
- Wizards: Kelly Oubre, SF, Kansas — signed
- Celtics: Terry Rozier, PG, Louisville — signed
- Bucks: Rashad Vaughn, SG, UNLV — signed
- Rockets: Sam Dekker, F, Wisconsin — signed
- Knicks: Jerian Grant, PG, Notre Dame — signed
- Raptors: Delon Wright, PG, Utah — signed
- Mavericks: Justin Anderson, F, Virginia — signed
- Bulls: Bobby Portis, PF, Arkansas — signed
- Nets: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF, Arizona — signed
- Timberwolves: Tyus Jones, PG, Duke — signed
- Grizzlies: Jarell Martin, F, LSU — signed
- Spurs: Nikola Milutinov, C, Serbia — signed overseas
- Lakers: Larry Nance Jr., PF, Wyoming — signed
- Celtics: R.J. Hunter, SG, Georgia State — signed
- Nets: Chris McCullough, PF, Syracuse — signed
- Warriors: Kevon Looney, PF, UCLA — signed
Second Round
- Cavaliers: Cedi Osman, G/F, Macedonia — remains overseas
- Rockets: Montrezl Harrell, PF, Louisville — signed to a three-year, $3.135MM deal.
- Celtics: Jordan Mickey, PF, LSU — signed to a four-year, $5MM deal.
- Lakers: Anthony Brown, SF, Stanford — signed to a three-year deal for about $2.589MM.
- Knicks: Guillermo Hernangomez, C, Spain — likely to stay overseas
- Pacers: Rakeem Christmas, F/C, Syracuse — signed to a four-year, $4.3MM deal.
- Sixers: Richaun Holmes, PF, Bowling Green — signed to a four-year, $4.2MM deal.
- Pistons: Darrun Hilliard, SF, Villanova — signed to a three-year deal for $2,489,382.
- Nets: Juan Vaulet, SF, Argentina — likely to stay overseas
- Heat: Josh Richardson, SG, Tennessee — signed a three-year, minimum-salary deal.
- Trail Blazers: Pat Connaughton, SG, Notre Dame — signed to a three-year deal for about $2.5MM.
- Jazz: Olivier Hanlan, G, Boston College — signed overseas.
- Pacers: Joseph Young, G, Oregon — signed to four year deal for $4.3MM.
- Grizzlies: Andrew Harrison, G, Kentucky — agreed to sign in D-League
- Celtics: Marcus Thornton, G, William & Mary — signed to play overseas
- Raptors: Norman Powell, SG, UCLA — signed to a three-year deal for about $2.5MM.
- Kings: Arturas Gudaitis, C, Lithuania — signed overseas
- Thunder: Dakari Johnson, C, Kentucky — agreed to sign in D-League
- Wizards: Aaron White, F, Iowa — signed overseas
- Hawks: Marcus Eriksson, SG, Sweden — likely to stay overseas
- Magic: Tyler Harvey, SG, Eastern Washington — agreed to sign in D-League
- Mavericks: Satnam Singh, C, India — likely to sign in D-League
- Cavaliers: Sir’Dominic Pointer, SF, St. John’s — agreed to sign in D-League
- Trail Blazers: Daniel Diez, SF, Spain — under contract overseas
- Spurs: Cady Lalanne, F/C, Massachusetts — signing in D-League
- Clippers: Branden Dawson, F, Michigan State — signed to a two-year, minimum salary deal.
- Nuggets: Nikola Radicevic, PG, Serbia — likely to stay overseas
- Sixers: J.P. Tokoto, G/F, North Carolina — signed one-year, non-guaranteed minimum salary required tender
- Hawks: Dimitrios Agravanis, F, Greece — likely to stay overseas
- Kings: Luka Mitrovic, PF, Serbia — extended overseas contract
And-Ones: Drummond, Farmar, Mekel
The Pistons could reap greater cap flexibility for next summer if they wait until then to sign Andre Drummond as a restricted free agent instead of giving him an extension this summer, but the team will leave that choice to the Jeff Schwartz client, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Drummond reportedly wants an extension, so it would seem it’s a strong bet he’ll end up with one before the October 31st rookie scale extension deadline. Here’s more from around the NBA and related circles:
- Jordan Farmar has signed with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team announced (hat tip to David Pick of Eurobasket.com). Agent Tony Dutt searched for NBA deals for the point guard who spent part of last season with the Clippers, but found nothing, as Pick hears (Twitter link).
- Maccabi Tel Aviv management pushed for the deal with Farmar, while the coaches were higher on former Mavs and Pelicans point guard Gal Mekel, according to Pick, who earlier reported that Mekel and the team had a verbal agreement on a three-year deal with NBA out clauses (Twitter links). However, fellow Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem is still pursuing Mekel, who remains in talks with teams from the NBA and Europe, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss clarified in a radio appearance on KPCC-FM last week that this past year was the first on brother Jim Buss‘ three-year window to guide the team to at least the Western Conference Finals, as Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Jim Buss would resign his job as executive VP of basketball operations if the Lakers aren’t back to that point by the end of the 2016/17 season, his sister said.
- The Lakers, Heat, Knicks, Suns and Pelicans have expressed interest in Justin Hamilton, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The Timberwolves elected not to retain the right to match offers for him when they decided against making a qualifying offer.
- Serge Ibaka failed to meet an incentive worth $100K this past season, so his cap hit for the Thunder for this coming season shrinks by that amount, to $12.25MM, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). That’s unlikely to matter for the Thunder, who are expected to be well above the cap and exceed the tax line. Ibaka’s salary for tax purposes will be determined based on the bonuses that he either triggers or doesn’t trigger this coming season, whereas last season’s figures only affect his cap number.
- The Nuggets are hiring German national team coach Chris Fleming, former Magic assistant Wes Unseld Jr., and Kings assistants Ryan Bowen and Micah Nori as assistants to new head coach Michael Malone, reports Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. They’ll join Bulls assistant Ed Pinckney, who’s also reportedly joining the Denver coaching staff.
Latest On Mo Williams
The Grizzlies remain in the mix for free agent point guard Mo Williams, tweets Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report, who adds that a source suggested the Spurs as an emergent suitor. Zwerling reported last week that a deal between Memphis and Williams was close, but a source who spoke with Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal around the same time disputed that notion.
Memphis allowed its contract guarantee date with backup point guard Beno Udrih to pass on Sunday, meaning his partial guarantee of $923K is now a full guarantee of more than $2.17MM. That means the team has two point guards locked in, with Mike Conley holding down the starting job. The Grizzlies also have point guard Russ Smith on a non-guaranteed deal that picks up a $150K partial guarantee if he remains on the roster through July 15th.
The Hornets are willing to sign-and-trade Williams, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported this weekend. That would help the Spurs, who are unlikely to have more than the $2.814MM room exception to spend on Williams in a straight-up signing, as well as the Grizzlies, who’ll likely be spending their $5.464MM mid-level to accommodate their deal with Brandan Wright. Williams and the Cavs, who have their $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level to spend, reportedly have mutual interest.
Nets Sign Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
The Nets have formally signed No. 23 overall pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the team announced via press release. First-round pick signings are among the few that can become official during the July Moratorium. The small forward from Arizona will make $1,335,480 this coming season and a total of $6,657,157 over the course of his four-year rookie scale contract, presuming he signs for the standard 120% of scale, as our table of likely first-round salaries shows.
Brooklyn traded with Portland for the rights to Hollis-Jefferson shortly after the draft, along with Steve Blake, for Mason Plumlee and the rights to No. 41 overall pick Pat Connaughton. Hollis-Jefferson stands to have a better chance at playing time this coming season if the Nets trade Joe Johnson, as they’re reportedly in talks to do.
The best-case scenario for Hollis-Jefferson’s NBA career is likely that he’ll end up similar to former Net Gerald Wallace, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors posited in his prospect profile of the defensive-minded new addition to Brooklyn’s roster. Hollis-Jefferson is a client of Mike George, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who ranked him as the 13th-best prospect in this year’s draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him 20th.
Southwest Notes: Villanueva, Udrih, Conley
It’s a good bet that Charlie Villanueva will end up back with the Mavericks on a deal for the minimum salary, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. MacMahon wrote last month that the Mavs would welcome him back if he were to play for that amount, and Villanueva has spoken of his desire to play for coach Rick Carlisle again. There’s plenty more from the Southwest Division, where all five teams made the playoffs this past season even before the summer’s two most talked–about free agents agreed to go there:
- Beno Udrih‘s full salary of more than $2.17MM is guaranteed since he remained on the Grizzlies roster through Sunday. It had been partially guaranteed for only $923K, as the schedule of salary guarantee dates shows.
- Mike Conley triggered a $200K bonus because the Grizzlies went to the second round of the playoffs this past season, so his cap figure for this coming season goes up by that amount, bringing it to $9,588,426, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- Rockets draft-and-stash point guard Sergio Llull has signed an extension with Real Madrid of Spain that runs until 2021, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Llull rejected reported overtures from Houston to join the NBA for this coming season, though his new deal does include a lower NBA buyout.
- The Mavs will soon announce the hiring of Nick Van Exel as the team’s D-League coach, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Pelicans free agent Jimmer Fredette is mulling an offer from Italy’s Olimpia Milano, sources tell Paola De Persis of Sportando. Fredette would nonetheless prefer to stay in the NBA, De Persis notes.